Ask fans of The Acolyte who their favorite character is, and you can get a variety of valid answers. We want justice for Master Sol, and the Yord Horde might still be in mourning. We all wish we had more of the story of Osha and Mae, and Qimir is in a league of his own. For me, Padawan Jecki Lon was my hero. I cried out when she was murdered.
Her actress, Dafne Keen, recently shared her thoughts on the show and her involvement in it and the interview only solidified my appreciation for Keen's role in the High Republic limited series.
Dafne Keen was proud of her work on The Acolyte
Screen Rant's Tessa Smith spoke to Keen at this past weekend's Saturn Awards, and it is gratifying to see her positive perspective, "expressing in pride in her character and her colleagues." The show "was subject to a review-bombing campaign before it had even released," and "not all criticisms were good-faith, and there was a distinct undercurrent of racism and misogyny."
Keen admits that the cancellation of the show, a first for Disney, was "overwhelming for all of us." Jecki was loyal to Osha in the course of the show and Dafne's loyalty to costar Amandla Stenberg is admirably similar. In addition to expressing her feelings about her own character, she says that she "was very proud of how my friend Amandla handled the situation."
Stenberg addressed the show's reception in an eight-minute video last August, when she denounced the "rampage of vitriol that [the cast and crew] faced since the show was announced." In the face of "vitriol, prejudice, hatred and hateful language toward us." Amandla described the process of filming The Acolyte as "completely worthwhile for me."
In a similar vein, Keen said, "We're all very proud of what we created...I'm a huge nerd myself, so I was just realy happy that I got to play a Jedi. Bucket list ticked." Tessa Smith sympathized with the cast who "found themselves at the center of a social media backlash that cared little for the poeple caught up in it."
Whatever the backlash, the fact remains that Keen played Jecki with a wonderful sincerity. She grew as a character to see the truth beyond first impressions and befriended a person who might have been her adversary. When the Jedi were dispatched to face enemies, Jecki tried her best to save the life of her friend's sister. She was a Jedi we could all learn from and Keen deserves to be proud of that.
The Acolyte can be enjoyed on Disney+.